JP2001047329A - Method and device for assembling of product - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the working efficiency by introducing such an arrangement that welding operations can be executed even while a jig table is moving. SOLUTION: A lower locating jig 43 and a work receptacle 65 are installed on a slide base 39, which is movable along a guide rail 82. A work W is set in place in the lower locating jig 43 at the work carry-in stage 25 and the slide base 39 is moved so that the lower locating jig 43 is positioned at the work processing stage 29, and a provisionally attaching welding is conducted in the condition that the work W is located together with the lower locating jig 43 by the upper locating jig 87 at the work machining process 29. After this provisional welding, the work held by the lower jig 43 is released, and an additional welding is applied in the condition that the work W is held only by the upper jig 87, and during this additional welding operation, the slide base 39 is moved so that the lower jig 43 is positioned at the work carry-in stage 25 and the work receptacle 65 is positioned at the work machining process 29.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a product assembling apparatus and a product assembling method for assembling a product.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional product assembling apparatus, for example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2-34283 discloses an apparatus for assembling an automobile floor panel. This device is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, a work carry-in position 1, a work work position 3, and a work carry-out position 5 are provided in order from the left in the figure, and the first jig table 7 and the second jig table 9 are connected. What is connected and integrated by the means 11 is a first state in which the first jig table 7 is in the work loading position 1 and the second jig table 9 is in the work operation position 3, and a first jig. The second jig table 9 is located at the work carrying position 3 and the second jig table 9 is located at the work unloading position 5.
It is possible to move between the states.

[0003] In the first state, the workpiece W is carried into the first jig base 7 at the work loading position 1, the workpiece W ₁ in this case work working position 3, additional welding by the welding robot 13 Is performed.

Thereafter, the two jig stands 7, 9 move to the second state, and the welding robot 13 performs temporary tap welding on the work W on the first jig stand 7 at the work working position 3. . The second jig stand this time 9 out working of the work W ₁ after additional welding In the work unloading position 5 is made.

[0005] When the temporary hit welding to the workpiece W is completed,
The work W is lifted upward by the work transfer means 15, and at the same time, the two jig stands 7, 9 move to the first state. In this state, the work W is lifted by the work transfer means 15. The workpiece W is lowered onto the second jig table 9 and additional welding is performed by the welding robot 13.
At this time, the first jig stand 7 is at the work loading position 1 and the next work is loaded.

[0006]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional product assembling apparatus, when the jig tables 7, 9 are in the first state, the additional welding is performed on the workpiece by the second welding. In this state, temporary welding is performed, and the jig tables 7, 9 are moved at the point where each welding operation is completed. That is, the welding work process for the work and the moving process of the jig tables 7 and 9 are completely performed as separate processes, and the work efficiency is poor, and improvement is desired.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to improve work efficiency by enabling a workpiece to be machined even while the jig table is moving.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a work processing means for positioning and holding a work carried in a work carry-in step and processing the work with the work carry-in step. A lower positioning and holding portion movable between the provided work processing step and the work transferred to the work processing step by the lower positioning and holding portion, and the work separately moved to the upper side separately from the lower positioning and holding portion. And a work receiving portion that receives the processed work from the upper positioning and holding portion and that can move between the work processing step and the work unloading step.

According to the product assembling apparatus having such a configuration,
The work positioned and held by the lower positioning and holding unit in the work loading process is moved to the work processing process by the lower positioning and holding unit, and is now also positioned and held by the upper positioning and holding unit. Processing such as work is performed. After the temporary welding operation, the work holding by the lower positioning holder is released, and the work is held only by the upper positioning holding part. In this state, the workpiece is subjected to processing such as additional welding work, and during this additional welding work, the lower positioning holding section returns to the work loading step, and the work receiving section returns to the work receiving section from the work unloading step. Move to machining process. When the additional welding operation is completed, the upper positioning holding unit transfers the work to the work receiving unit, and the work receiving unit that has received the work moves to a work unloading step, where the work is unloaded. When the work receiving section is moved to the work unloading step, the lower positioning holder on which the next work is positioned and held in the work loading step moves to the work processing step.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, the lower positioning holding portion and the work receiving portion are provided on the same movable body and move integrally.

According to the above construction, the movable body moves between the work loading step and the work unloading step centering on the work processing step, so that the lower positioning jig moves between the work loading step and the work processing step. The work receiving part moves integrally between the work processing step and the work unloading step.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the work positioned in the lower positioning holding section in the work loading step is transferred to the work processing step by moving the lower positioning holding section, and the upper positioning holding section in the work processing step is moved. In the state where the work is held, the work is processed while moving the lower positioning holding unit to the work loading step, and the processed work is transferred from the upper positioning holding unit to the work processing step and the work unloading step. Transfer to a movable work receiving part.

According to the above-described product assembling method, in a state where the work is held by the upper positioning and holding portion, the processing of the work and the movement of the lower positioning and holding portion to the work loading process are performed in the same process. Efficiency is improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the product assembling method according to the third aspect of the present invention, the work processing step includes welding and fixing the plurality of works to each other. Temporary welding is performed while the workpiece is positioned and held from above and below with the positioning holder,
After the preliminary tapping welding, additional work is carried out while holding the work only at the upper positioning and holding section, and during this additional work, the lower positioning and holding tool is moved to the work loading step and the work receiving section is unloaded. Move from process to work processing process.

According to the above-described product assembling method, the additional welding operation for the work positioned and held by the upper positioning and holding unit, the movement of the lower positioning and holding unit from the work processing step to the work carry-in step, and the work receiving operation are performed. The movement of the section from the work unloading step to the work processing step is performed in the same step.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the product assembling method according to the third or fourth aspect of the present invention, when the work is held only by the upper positioning holding jig, a necessary minimum upper positioning jig among a plurality of upper positioning jigs is provided. Hold the work with the jig,
The other upper positioning jig is kept away from the work.

According to the above-described product assembling method, a sufficient working space is secured at the time of processing a workpiece.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the product assembling method according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, the work is an engine compartment which is a body part of an automobile.
The engine compartment is transported between the steps with the longitudinal direction being the direction orthogonal to the transport direction.

According to the above-described product assembling method, the installation space in each step of the engine compartment can be reduced in the work transfer direction, thereby shortening the movement stroke of the lower positioning jig and the work receiving portion.

[0020]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the upper positioning and holding portion can independently position and hold the work in the work processing step. In this state, the work is performed on the work and the work is transferred to the work processing step. The movement of the lower positioning jig to the work carrying-in step can be performed in the same step, and the working efficiency can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the lower positioning holding section and the work receiving section are configured to move integrally with each other, so that the driving section can be shared and the structure can be simplified. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in a state where the work is positioned and held by the upper positioning and holding unit, the work on the work and the movement of the lower positioning and holding unit to the work loading step can be performed in the same process. Work efficiency can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, an additional welding operation is performed on the work positioned and held by the upper positioning and holding unit, the lower positioning and holding unit is moved from the work processing step to the work loading step, and the work receiving is performed. Since the movement of the part from the work unloading step to the work processing step is performed in the same step, the work efficiency can be improved.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, at the time of processing the work, the upper positioning holder which is unnecessary for holding the work is separated from the work, so that the work space can be widened.
Workability can be improved.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the engine compartment is transported between each process with the longitudinal direction perpendicular to the transport direction, the installation space in each process of the engine compartment is limited in the work transport direction. , The moving stroke between the steps of the lower positioning jig and the work receiving portion can be shortened, and the working time can be shortened.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a simplified plan view showing the entire configuration of a vehicle body assembling apparatus for assembling an engine compartment in a vehicle body by welding as a product assembling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The engine compartment assembled here is a radiator core support assembly 17 at the front of the vehicle body as shown in an exploded perspective view in FIG.
And left and right food ridges and member assemblies 19, 21
And a dash panel assembly 23, and these components as a work are joined and fixed by welding.

In the vehicle body assembling apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the radiator core support assembly 17 and the left and right hood ridges and member assemblies 19 and 21 are positioned and set by a worker or a handling robot. The work 23 is positioned by a handling robot at a predetermined position on the left and right hood ridge & member assemblies 19, 21 by a handling robot, and each component is welded by a welding robot 27 as a work processing means. The process includes a process 29 and a work unloading process 35 in which the welding robot 31 performs additional welding on the processed work and then unloads the work by the handling robot 33.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the vehicle body assembling apparatus with the welding robots 27 and 31 and the handling robot 33 omitted, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same, and FIG. 5 is a right side view of FIG. 3 and 4, a base 37 extending along the work loading step 25, the work processing step 29, and the work unloading step 35 is arranged, and a slide base 39 as a moving body is mounted on the base 37. It is provided movably in the left-right direction in FIG.

The slide base 39 is used for the work loading process 2
5 and the length between the workpiece processing step 29 and the length between the workpiece processing step 29 and the workpiece unloading step 35, and a lower positioning jig as a lower positioning holding portion is provided on the upper right side in FIG. A plurality (12 in this case) so that the tool 43 can position and hold the radiator core support assembly 17, the left and right hood ridge and member assemblies 19 and 21, and the dash panel assembly 23 respectively.
is set up.

The lower positioning jig 43 is inserted into a positioning hole formed in the work as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 which is a right side view of FIG. A positioning pin 45 having a clamp claw is provided. That is, by inserting the positioning pin 45 into the positioning hole of the work from below, the lower step portion 47 is brought into contact with and pressed against the lower surface of the work, and in this state, the clamp claw is formed in the slit formed in the positioning pin 45. The work is pressed from above by rotating to project from the outside. As a result, the work is positioned by the positioning pins 45, and is clamped and fixed between the step portion 47 and the clamp claws.

The positioning pin 45 is provided at the upper end of a bracket 49, and the bracket 49 is attached to the jig body 51.
Can be moved up and down. A ball screw 53 that extends in the up-down direction is housed in the jig body 51,
A nut 55 screwed into the ball screw 53 is fixed to the lower end side of the bracket 49. The upper end of the ball screw 53 is connected to a motor 59 fixed to the jig main body 51 via a power transmission mechanism 57 including a pulley and a belt.

That is, the ball screw 53 is rotated by the driving of the motor 59, and the bracket 49 integrated with the nut 55 screwed to the ball screw 53 moves up and down together with the positioning pin 45. A mechanism for moving the positioning pin 45 up and down is referred to as a first drive mechanism 60.

The first drive mechanism section 60 is movable in the left and right directions in FIGS. 6 and 3 by a second drive mechanism section 61 provided thereunder.
FIGS. 7 and 5 show a third driving mechanism 63 located on the slide base 39 at a lower portion thereof.
It can move in the left-right direction inside.

The second and third drive mechanisms 61 and 63 are
A mechanism similar to that of the first drive mechanism 60 is employed. That is, the second driving mechanism 61 is configured such that the ball screw 61b is rotated by the driving of the motor 61a, and the jig main body 51 integrated with the nut 61c screwed into the ball screw 61b is arranged as shown in FIG.
Move left and right inside. Similarly, the third drive mechanism 63 rotates the ball screw (not shown) by driving the motor 63a, and the second drive mechanism 61, which is integral with the nut screwed to the ball screw, moves left and right in FIG. Move in the direction.

As described above, in the lower positioning jig 43, the positions of the positioning pins 45 for positioning and holding the work are moved up and down and back and forth and left and right by the first, second and third driving mechanism units 60, 61 and 63. It moves in three directions.

On the other hand, the slide base 39 shown in FIG.
A work receiving portion 65 is provided on the upper left side of the work. In the work receiving portion 65, a plurality of simple jigs 71 for additional driving which are moved up and down by a cylinder 69 are provided on a support frame 67.

As shown in FIG. 5, the slide base 39 has a rack 75 mounted on the lower surface at the center in the width direction.
When the motor 79 rotates the pinion 77 screwed to the rack 75 via the drive shaft 81, the pinion 77 moves in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 5, that is, in the left-right direction in FIG. 3.
This movement is performed by the support portions 3 provided on both sides in the width direction of the base 37.
It is guided along a guide rail 82 on 7a.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lower positioning jig 43 is used for the slide base 39 in the work processing step 2.
9 and the state where the work receiving portion 65 is located in the work unloading step 35, and the lower positioning jig 43 is positioned in the work loading step 25 as shown in FIG.
Moves and displaces to a state positioned in the work processing step 29.

In the work processing step 29, two supporting legs 83 are provided on each side of the slide base 39 in the width direction, and two upper ends of the two sides of the supporting base 83 with the slide base 39 interposed therebetween. A jig holding frame 85 is stretched over each other. An upper positioning jig 87 as an upper positioning holding portion can position and hold the radiator core support assembly 17, the left and right hood ridge & member assemblies 19, 21 and the dash panel assembly 23 on the jig holding frame 85 from above. In this way, a plurality (ten in this case) are installed.

The upper positioning tool 87 has a positioning pin 89 having a clamp claw similar to that of the lower positioning tool 43 described above, and projects downward. The shaped bracket 91 can be moved up and down by a first drive mechanism 93. The first drive mechanism 93 can be moved in the left-right direction in FIG. 3 by a second drive mechanism 95, and the second drive mechanism 95 is further moved by a third drive mechanism 97 in FIG. Can be moved in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface.

That is, the positioning pins 89 for positioning and holding the work are provided in the first, second, and third driving mechanism sections 9.
3, 95, 97, it is possible to move in three directions: up and down, front and rear, right and left. Then, each of these drive mechanisms 9
3, 95, 97, similarly to the first, second, and third drive mechanisms 60, 61, 63 in the lower positioning jig 43, the ball screw rotates by driving the motor, and The movement of the nut to be screwed moves the object integral with the nut.

Four upper positioning jigs 87 each having the above-described positioning pins 89 are provided, and the remaining six jigs are arranged such that the clamp arm 101 is moved by the cylinder 99 to the position indicated by the solid line as shown in FIG. A work holding structure having a structure in which the work is rotated and displaced between a position indicated by a two-dot chain line is used.
Although not shown, the four upper positioning jigs 87 having the positioning pins 89 are also provided with clamp arms, and the remaining six are also provided with positioning pins. For the remaining six units, cylinders with locks capable of holding a clamped state are used. That is, the clamp arm 101 is
And the other end of the rotation support piece 105 whose one end is fixed to the clamp arm 101 is rotatable with respect to the bracket 107.
The cylinder 99 itself is also rotatably supported on the bracket 107 via a rotation support 109. When the clamp arm 101 is at the solid line position, the work is held between the holding movable pin 111 provided at the tip of the clamp arm 101 and the fixed pin 113 provided on the bracket 107.

Note that the lower positioning jig 43 is also
Clamp arm 1 as in upper positioning jig 87
01 may be used.

FIG. 10 shows twelve lower positioning jigs 43.
And, by ten upper positioning jig 87 shows the positioning holding position with respect to the workpiece, as the position indicated by L is due to the lower positioning jigs 43, the position indicated by U and U ₁ is due to the upper positioning jig 87 Things. Among the position indicated by U ₁ is by six upper positioning jig having a clamp arm 101 shown in FIG. 9.

Next, the operation will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, in a state where the lower positioning jig 43 is located in the work loading step 25, the positioning pins 45 are appropriately moved up and down, and back and forth and left and right.
Work W by a worker or a handling robot
(The radiator core support assembly 17 and the left and right hood ridges and member assemblies 19, 21) are positioned and set. At this time, in the work processing step 29, the work W (the radiator core support assembly 17, the left and right hood ridges and the member assembly 1) before the welding processing has already been completed.
9, 21 and the dash panel assembly 23) are transferred from the upper positioning jig 87 to the work receiving portion 65.

Thereafter, the slide base 39 moves leftward from the state shown in FIG. 8, and as shown in FIG. 3, the lower positioning jig 43 moves to the work processing step 29, and the work receiving section 65 moves to the work unloading step 35. Each is in a state of being located. In this state, the dash panel assembly 23 is handled by the hood ridge & member assembly 19, 2 by the handling robot.
1 is positioned and set on the lower positioning jig 43 so that all the components constituting the engine compartment are positioned and set on the lower positioning jig 43. In addition, depending on the shape of the work and the type of the vehicle, the radiator core support assembly 17 and the left and right hood ridges and member assemblies 19 and 21 are welded (tempered).
Next, the dash panel assembly 23 is positioned and set, and positioning welding (tempering) can be performed again.

Next, the positioning pin 89 of the upper positioning jig 87 is moved up, down, front, back, left and right as necessary to move the work W
(The radiator core support assembly 17, the left and right hood ridge and member assemblies 19 and 21, and the dash panel assembly 23) are positioned, and the work W is held by a clamp arm (not shown). Then, the work W is thereby moved between the lower positioning jig 43 and the upper positioning jig 87.
In both cases, the positioning is fixed. This state is shown in FIG. 11 as a front view and FIG. 12 as a right side view in FIG. 13 and 14 show the lower positioning jig 4.
3 and a state where the upper positioning jig 87 is at the original position.

In the state shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, temporary welding is performed on the workpiece W by the welding robot 27, and when the degree of joining accuracy between the components is secured, the lower positioning jig 43 is moved to the state shown in FIGS. Returning to the original position shown, the holding of the work W is released, and the holding of the four positioning jigs 87 provided with the positioning pins 89 is also released from the work W, so that the upper jig 87 is separated from the work W. Thus, the workpiece W of the upper positioning jig 87, the six with the clamp arm 101 shown in FIG. 9, the position of U ₁ of 6 places shown in FIG. 10 is held.

On the other hand, the work W on the work receiving portion 65 moving to the work unloading step 35 is
After the additional welding by 1, the handling robot 33
Is carried out by

Then, with the work W held by the six upper positioning jigs 87, the slide base 39 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
8 moves rightward from the position shown in FIG. 8 to the position shown in FIG. 8. During this movement, the welding robot 27 performs additional welding work on the workpiece W. As described above, the welding operation is performed even in the process of moving the slide base 39 from the work processing step 29 to the work carry-in step 25, so that the work efficiency can be improved. The four upper positioning jigs 87 from which the holding of the work W has been released are retracted to a position where they do not interfere with the welding robot 27, so that a sufficient welding work space is secured and welding workability is improved.

When the additional welding is completed and the slide base 39 is at the position shown in FIG. 8, the simple additional jig 71 is elevated by the cylinder 69 in the work receiving portion 67 to position and hold the work W. Perform additional hit welding. On the other hand, the work to be processed next is carried into the lower positioning jig 43 located in the work carry-in step 25. After the above-mentioned additional welding is completed, six upper positioning jigs 8
7 returns to the original position shown in FIG. 13 and FIG.
When the transfer to the simple jig 71 for additional punching is completed, the slide base 39 is moved to the position shown in FIG. The work W is carried out to another facility by the handling robot 33, and in the work processing step 29, the next work is welded in the same manner as described above.

The engine compartment constructed by assembling the work W by welding has, as is apparent from FIG. 10, a vertically long portion in FIG.
In the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the work W
Since the transfer is performed between 5, 29, and 35, the moving stroke of the slide base 39 of the work W is reduced, and the working time can be reduced.

The transfer of the work W from the upper positioning jig 87 to the additional jig 71 can be performed by lowering the work W to the additional jig 71 by the upper positioning jig 87. Therefore, the additional jig 71 is
A fixed type may be used without providing the. Further, the lower positioning jig 43 and the work receiving portion 65 are configured to be installed on the same slide base 39 and move integrally, but they may be installed on different slide bases and moved separately. Furthermore, although the body parts have been described as examples of the work, the work is not limited to this.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a simplified plan view showing an overall configuration of a vehicle body assembling apparatus for assembling an engine compartment in a vehicle body by welding as a product assembling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an engine compartment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the vehicle body assembling apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a right side view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a front view of a lower positioning jig in the vehicle body assembling apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a right side view of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view showing a state where the slide base has moved rightward with respect to FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a front view of an upper positioning jig provided with a clamp arm.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a positioning position of a work by a positioning jig.

FIG. 11 is a front view showing a state where a work is positioned and held by a lower positioning jig and an upper positioning jig.

FIG. 12 is a right side view of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a front view showing a state in which a lower positioning jig and an upper positioning jig are at original positions.

FIG. 14 is a right side view of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a product assembling apparatus showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W Work 25 Work loading step 27 Welding robot (Work processing means) 29 Work processing step 35 Work unloading step 39 Slide base (moving body) 43 Lower positioning jig (Lower positioning holding part) 65 Work receiving part 87 Upper positioning jig (Upper positioning holder)

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Seiji Nakayama 2 Takaracho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa F-term in Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (reference) 3C030 BD06 CC01 DA01 DA17 DA26 DA32 DA37 3D114 AA03 AA11 BA26 CA05 DA08 EA02 EA03 FA09 GA01 GA06

Claims (6)

[Claims] A lower positioning / holding portion which positions and holds the work carried in the work carrying-in step and is movable between the work carrying-in step and a work machining step provided with a work machining means for machining the work; The work transferred to the work processing step by the lower positioning holding unit, the upper positioning holding unit capable of positioning and holding independently from the upper side separately from the lower positioning holding unit, A product assembling apparatus comprising: a work receiving portion that receives a work and is movable between the work processing step and the work unloading step. 2. The product assembling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lower positioning holding section and the workpiece receiving section are provided on the same moving body and move integrally. 3. The work positioned in the lower positioning holding section in the work loading step is transferred to a work processing step by moving the lower positioning holding section, and the work is held by the upper positioning holding section in the work processing step. In this state, the work is machined while moving the lower positioning holding unit to the work loading process, and the processed work can be moved between the work processing process and the work unloading process from the upper positioning holding unit. A product assembling method, wherein the product is transferred to a work receiving portion. 4. A workpiece processing step for welding and fixing a plurality of workpieces to each other. In this workpiece processing step, provisional tapping is performed while the workpiece is positioned and held from above and below by a lower positioning holder and an upper positioning holder. Welding is performed, and after the preliminary tapping welding, additional work is carried out while holding the work only at the upper positioning and holding section. During this additional work, the lower positioning and holding tool is moved to the work loading step, and the work receiving work is performed. 4. The product assembling method according to claim 3, wherein the part is moved from the work unloading step to the work processing step. 5. When the work is held only by the upper positioning jig, the work is held by a minimum necessary upper jig among the plurality of upper positioning jigs, and the other upper positioning jigs are separated from the work. 5. The product assembling method according to claim 3, wherein the product is separated. 6. The engine according to claim 3, wherein the workpiece is an engine compartment that is a body part of an automobile, and the engine compartment is transported between processes with a longitudinal direction perpendicular to the transport direction. The product assembling method according to any one of the above.